This application is based on and claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of German Patent Application 102 23 840.5, filed on May 28, 2002, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a conduit channel or raceway for receiving, guiding and protecting insulated conductor lines such as insulated electrical cables and/or optical fiber cables, as well as electrical and/or optical devices, as components of an in-flight entertainment system or the like in an aircraft.
Modern passenger transport aircraft are equipped with an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system that provides entertainment, news, instructions, or other information and data through audio and/or video channels to the passengers. To realize such an in-flight entertainment system, a great number of insulated conductor lines such as insulated electrical cables and/or optical fiber cables as well as electrical and optical devices must be laid out and installed in the cabin, to deliver the in-flight entertainment content to the individual passengers seated in the passenger seats. To achieve this, the known Airbus aircraft are equipped with many floor disconnect boxes (FDB) and power floor disconnect boxes (PFDB) installed in the area of the floor of the passenger cabins of the aircraft. Particularly, these boxes are arranged distributed along the lengthwise axis direction of the aircraft, over the entire floor area of the passenger cabin or cabins.
Data lines and power supply lines are connected to these boxes, in order to provide the information and the power supply to the end use devices and/or other electrical connections of the in-flight entertainment system provided on or in connection with the passenger seats, by means of individual seat cabling. In the present conventional aircraft, the seat cabling is carried out via visible cable channels that are installed above the floor next to or alongside the seat rails on the carpet covering the floor. The cable channels are positioned under plastic covers below the seats of the seat configuration, spaced slightly above the actual floor structure.
Also, fixed openings or recesses with prescribed locations and dimensions are provided in the floor, for receiving the above mentioned floor disconnect boxes, from which the extending cables are then guided or laid out to the individual seats. In this context, the boxes are installed in a prepared floor plate of large dimensions, with a carrying or supporting frame and a lid, whereby the cables or cable bundles extending therefrom leave the respective box in the area of the screw-on lid or cover of the box. This involves a rather complicated, time consuming and costly installation, which is also inflexible and not adaptable to different conditions or layouts.
Despite the advantage of providing a good accessibility of the cable installation, the known channel and cable installation suffer significant disadvantages. For example, the installed cables lie relatively unprotected and visibly in the cabin, i.e. under thin plastic covers on top of the cabin floor. Also, partition walls that separate the overall cabin area into several zones cannot (or cannot easily) be skirted around by the cable or cable channels due to the channel installation protruding slightly above the floor structure. Morever, the fixed installation locations of the floor disconnect boxes only allow a relatively minimal and constrained flexibility of the seat cabling, which is influenced by the location and the seat configuration of the respective seats. Variations or different layouts, for example at the request of a later operator of the passenger aircraft, cannot be achieved or can only be achieved with significant limitations. There are further visual disadvantages of the conventional installation, which primarily arise from the cable conduit channel arranged above the floor, as well as the installation locations of the floor disconnect boxes, and also the visible connection cabling of the seats of respective seat rows (i.e. from seat to seat). Finally, the danger exists, that the exposed and protruding components of the conventional arrangement present a constant tripping hazard for passengers and flight crew personnel, as well as the threat of damage being caused to the devices and the connection cables. There is a great need to overcome these significant disadvantages and problems.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide a conduit channel arrangement for receiving or housing the conductor lines and devices of an in-flight entertainment system of an aircraft that is improved so as to achieve an uncomplicated and flexible laying of the cables for the individual seats, using a conductor line and device channel integrated into the floor, which avoids tripping hazards for passengers and flight crew personnel, and avoids the risk of damage being caused to the devices and the connection cables installed in the channel arrangement. Another object of the invention is to allow for a flexible variation of the installation location of the various devices and connection cables for the seats within the channel, while also receiving both cables and devices combined within the same channel. The invention further aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from the present specification.
The above objects have been achieved according to the invention in a transport aircraft including an in-flight entertainment system incorporating insulated conductor lines and devices. The aircraft includes a fuselage that extends longitudinally in a longitudinal axis direction and that includes a cabin floor incorporating a crossbeam with a horizontal crossbeam support surface extending in a transverse direction transversely across the longitudinal axis direction and a sectional profile member with a horizontal profile support surface extending along the longitudinal axis direction. Throughout this specification, the terms xe2x80x9chorizontalxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cverticalxe2x80x9d respectively mean substantially (e.g. within +/xe2x88x925xc2x0) along or parallel to the transverse plane on the pitch axis and the upright longitudinal plane on the yaw axis of the aircraft respectively, although the true orientations vary depending on the flight attitude of the aircraft, for example.
The improved conduit channel arrangement according to the invention is adapted to receive the insulated conductor lines and the devices of the in-flight entertainment system. The conduit channel arrangement includes a conduit channel or raceway formed of a light metal sectional member having a double-L or Z-sectional shape including a middle channel web standing vertically or perpendicularly on the crossbeam support surface, an upper channel flange that is perpendicularly bent from an upper edge of the middle channel web so as to protrude laterally there-from and rest supported on the profile support surface, as well as a lower channel flange that forms the channel floor, and that is bent perpendicularly from the lower edge of the middle channel web to protrude horizontally laterally therefrom in a direction opposite the upper channel flange, and that is arranged and supported on the horizontal crossbeam support surface. The conduit channel arrangement further includes a plate-like channel cover or lid having an edge rim extending in the longitudinal axis direction, with several cable pass-through openings provided therein spaced apart from one another along the longitudinally extending edge of the channel cover. A respective conductor line or conductor bundle received in the channel can be guided out through a respective one of the cable pass-through openings. The edge rim of the channel cover rests supportedly with its rim portion on the upper channel flange.
With this structure of the conduit channel arrangement according to the invention, the channel is integrated and recessed flushly into the aircraft cabin floor, and is structurally supported on the structural members incorporated in the floor. The longitudinally extending cables or insulated conductor lines are thus received in the longitudinally extending channel recessed into the floor, and they are not exposed above the floor. This channel arrangement also allows great flexibility and adaptability in the particular location and layout of the connection cabling extending from the channel or raceway to the individual seats or seat rows.